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Tense Marking in the English Narrative Retells of Dual Language Preschoolers
Resource type
Authors/contributors
- Gusewski, Svenja (Author)
- Rojas, Raúl (Author)
Title
Tense Marking in the English Narrative Retells of Dual Language Preschoolers
Abstract
Purpose
This longitudinal study investigated the emergence of English tense marking in young (Spanish–English) dual language learners (DLLs) over 4 consecutive academic semesters, addressing the need for longitudinal data on typical acquisition trajectories of English in DLL preschoolers.
Method
Language sample analysis was conducted on 139 English narrative retells elicited from 39 preschool-age (Spanish–English) DLLs (range = 39–65 months). Growth curve models captured within- and between-individual change in tense-marking accuracy over time. Tense-marking accuracy was indexed by the finite verb morphology composite and by 2 specifically developed adaptations. Individual tense markers were systematically described in terms of overall accuracy and specific error patterns.
Results
Tense-marking accuracy exhibited significant growth over time for each composite. Initially, irregular past-tense accuracy was higher than regular past-tense accuracy; over time, however, regular past-tense marking outpaced accuracy on irregular verbs.
Conclusions
These findings suggest that young DLLs can achieve high tense-marking accuracy assuming 2 years of immersive exposure to English. Monitoring the growth in tense-marking accuracy over time and considering productive tense-marking errors as partially correct more precisely captured the emergence of English tense marking in this population with highly variable expressive language skills.
Supplemental Materials
https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5176942
Publication
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools
Publisher
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Date
2017-07-26
Volume
48
Issue
3
Pages
183-196
Citation Key
gusewskiTenseMarkingEnglish2017
Accessed
5/15/24, 3:54 PM
Library Catalog
pubs.asha.org (Atypon)
Citation
Gusewski, S., & Rojas, R. (2017). Tense Marking in the English Narrative Retells of Dual Language Preschoolers. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 48(3), 183–196. https://doi.org/10.1044/2017_LSHSS-16-0093
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